Primary features contests in new district

Tuesday

Four Democrats and two Republicans will face off in their respective primaries March 6, seeking spots on the fall ballot to ultimately serve Ohio's newly created 3rd Congressional District.

Four Democrats and two Republicans will face off in their respective primaries March 6, seeking spots on the fall ballot to ultimately serve Ohio's newly created 3rd Congressional District.

Appearing on the Democratic primary ballot are Joyce Beatty, Ted Celeste, Mary Jo Kilroy and Priscilla Tyson. Republicans squaring off March 6 are Chris Long and John Adams.

The fall ballot will also include two other names: Green Party candidate Bob Fitrakis and Libertarian contender Richard Ehrbar.

Carved out last year when the federal census results cut down Ohio's Congressional seats from 18 to 16, the 3rd District is completely contained within Franklin County, representing about 58 percent of the county's voters and about 80 percent of Columbus residents. The rest of Franklin County is now split between the 12th and 15th districts.

Beatty, 61, serves as senior vice president of outreach and engagement at Ohio State University and previously served in the Ohio House from 1999 to 2008. In 2005, she was selected as the House's first female minority leader.

Celeste, 66, owner of a real-estate firm in Grandview Heights, was elected to the Ohio House in 2006 and is currently serving his third term.

Kilroy, 62, was a Franklin County commissioner from 2001-09, and represented the 15th Congressional District from 2009 to 2011.

Tyson, 56, is a Columbus City Council member who has served since 2007. Prior to that, she served on the Columbus Civil Service Commission from 1993 to 2006.

In the Republican primary, Adams, 66, is the owner of Green Valley Chemicals Inc., served on Portsmouth City Council from 1973 to 1980, and as a Portsmouth City Board of Education member from 1996-99.

Long, 53, is serving his first term on Reynoldsburg City Council. He has also served on the Reynoldsburg Board of Zoning and Building Appeals and on the board of directors of the Reynoldsburg Community Association.

ThisWeek asked each of the candidates to define the needs of the newly created district, describe how they would address poverty in Franklin County, and how they would improve the state and nation's current economic climate.

Celeste said poverty needs to be addressed through economic development, jobs and education. He added that if elected, he would advocate for federal education funding and rules to prepare children for the workforce.

"Public officials at all levels need to collaborate with the private sector to move forward public infrastructure and education improvements," Celeste said. "Government needs to be responsive to the needs of business today, but also plan for the high-technology future in areas like renewable energy, materials science, advanced manufacturing and the biosciences."

Tyson said it is time for the government at all levels to invest in meaningful workforce development. She said tax code reform is needed to eliminate provisions that discourage small-business expansion, as well as abolishment of incentives for companies who move jobs overseas.

Kilroy and Beatty did not respond to repeated requests to answer questions from ThisWeek.

Adams said the government must maintain an economic safety net for those who have lost jobs and homes.

"We must repeal much of the excessive federal regulations that are strangling our free-market economy," Adams said. "We must allow domestic production of energy, both here in Ohio and across our nation É With a shift to our free-market expanding economy, our citizens here in the 3rd District should be able to find good-paying jobs and those with jobs will have a greater sense of job security."

Long said poverty in central Ohio should be addressed through education and ready access to needed educational services.

"I would propose and support federal dollar grants to fund basic skills and technical training for our residents in the 3rd District," Long said. "Many of the technical schools providing the needed training can be up to 30 miles from the individuals who need the training the most.

"I would propose partnerships between the technical education providers and our local community schools, and then work toward setting up after-hours technical and basic skills training."

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